Communications Plan Process and Procedure

Introduction To Project Communications Plan

Communications planning involves defining the information needs of project stakeholders as well as identifying which people need what information, when it will be needed, and how they will get it. The information required by people throughout the project is often dictated by the organizational structure of the University or the project itself. Information that is disseminated should contribute to project success or highlight possible areas of communication failure.

After collecting information on the number and needs of the stakeholders involved with the project, it is the project manager’s responsibility to draft a Communications Plan that outlines the following:

  1. How information will be collected and updated. This section of the plan discusses how the project manager will collect information from certain project areas and how often updated information will be expected to be reported. It should also discuss what action will be taken if important information needs to be updated between project information collection cycles.
  2. How information will be controlled and distributed. This section of the plan provides a description of how project information will flow to all project participants and who will make decisions on where information flows. This section also discusses which stakeholders and team members will have access to which particular areas of information. The intent of the distribution part of this section is not to limit team members from being able to access data that they need, but to provide a structure to keep anyone looking to do damage to the project away from sensitive materials. Information security policies should be referenced here.
  3. How information will be stored. This section of the plan gives project members an idea where physical project files will be kept as well as where electronic media might be stored for project team access.

Executing the Communications Plan Process

This section describes the procedures for executing the Communications Plan process. The procedures deliver a guideline to completing the Communications Plan Template that follows this section.

Determine Resources Needed for Project Communications

The Project Lead is responsible for the completion of the Communications Plan and should use resources that can be instrumental in delivering the communications needed for any given project. For example, on a very large project, the Project Lead may need to procure a professional firm that specializes in communications in order to accommodate all of the communication mechanisms required.

Complete A. General Information

The information required in this area is self explanatory.

Complete B. Timeliness

Identify the following information in this section:

  1. The types of communications required for the different participants. There may be other participants than what is included on the template.
  2. The frequency of the collections of the information that needs to be communicated.
  3. The medium that will be used to distribute the communications.

Complete C. Existing Systems

Identify the existing systems and mechanisms that already exist that will be utilized in the communications process.

Complete D. Length of Involvement

This section is self explanatory.

Complete E. Environment Considerations

Identify any special requirements that exist for any project participants. For example, if the President requires a periodic update on the progress on a given project, document the requirements for this communications including frequency and content. For another example, if you have a hostile stakeholder, identify any special communications requirements that this stakeholder requires.

Complete F. Method for Updating the Communications Plan

This section is self explanatory.